At the Intersection of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Business: Addressing Global Issues (2013)

This paper was prepared for delivery at the March 12 Conversations with the Faculty at Maritime College.

This short paper puts forward the hypothesis that a source of sustainable competitive advantage for a state (i.e., nation) is its ability to execute the STEB (science, technology, engineering, business) cycle faster than other states (i.e., the competition).

System Design and Control within the Context of Supply Chain Management Certificate (2011)

This note is a composition of of four other notes and positions the System Design and Control course, part of trhe Supply Chain Management Certificate, in the context of two other courses, Supply Chain I and Supply Chain II, thus providing guidance to the student.

I wrote six research papers during my course of study leading to a MA in Diplomacy from Norwich. Links to the six are below with the seminar in which they were written and in the sequence in which the seminars were taken.

I am asked by students from time to time to “find them a job” or “help them find a job.” What is generally missing from this request is information that helps me help them. Here, I lay out that information – role, responsibilities, risks, rewards – that students need to provide to me or anyone else for that matter from whom they are requesting help.

Preparatory Note for the Tenth Annual Symposium on Communications and Communications-Intensive Instruction(2010)

The Tenth Annual Symposium meets April 30, 2010. I have again been favord by the Bernard L. Schwartz Institute at Baruch College and will act as a facilitator. It has been my practice since the 2006 symposium to prepare a document to held me get my mind around trhe issues to be discussed. Below you will find a link to the paper for this symposium. Caution, it is but a brief sketch and warrants more thought than I have been able to provide over the last few weeks.

I served as guest lecturer for three sections of CS 100 Introduction to Business Computing. The attached presentation was the basis for my remarks. The original presentation, Notes from the IT Frontline October 1, 2003, can be found here.

I have from time to time become involved in the assessment of undergraduate and graduate courses of instruction. Recently I was asked to assess two graduate courses for the students’ grasp of issues related to global awareness and technology literacy. While these were at the same institution and at the graduate level, they were two independent efforts.

However, I am left wondering about the relationship between these two issues.

I’ve been involved in this process for the last year at two four year colleges granting undergraduate and graduate business degrees. By academic assessment I mean that work done by the college to satisfy state educational departments, accreditation bureaus, or other institutions to which the college is responsible. This is a brief paper that emerged from these recent experiences.

In the nearly four years I have been at Maritime College and my increased use of the Westport Public Library over the last six years I have developed a deeper appreciation of the value of library in the communities of which I am part. This paper discussed the future development of the library.

Channels, Audience Needs, and Communications: The Rise of a Idea (2007)

After this year's Schwartz Symposium, where I once again served as a moderator, I decided to publish a short paper describing the results of the table discussion in which I participated. Described is the evolution of an idea and the research needs it suggests.

Connect, Communicate, Learn is a paper that examines the experiences gained during 2004-2005 using SLN and CourseSpace in three undergraduate and eight graduate courses with 220 students at Maritime College. Two courses were distance learning, nine were hybrid.

These experiences are described in terms of outcomes, observed strengths and weaknesses, and potential opportunities and threats. Feedback from the students is provided.

At the heart of this paper is the hypothesis that the integration of pedagogy and technology provides for a very rich learning environment and experience, but that it is not for every teacher and every student. Hence, careful vetting of the participants is critical to success.

Recent conversations with Kognito Solutions have, amongst other things, been about the use of the computer as an aid in teaching critical thinking skills. In particular, the specific situation under discussion was the application of fact‑based, hypothesis‑driven reasoning to case studies. This note is an elaboration of that idea.

This is a presentation I was invited to give to Prof. Karl Lang's Introduction to Information Systems and Technologies course on the subject of Transactions and Technology, Baruch College, November 2003.

This discussion document examines the reach, range, behavior, and business value of Next Generation Railway Operating Systems (NGROS), postulates the shape of NGROS, deals with matters regarding its acceptance and implementation, and recommends next steps.

It seems to me that there is the letter and the spirit of the security initiatives. Firms have some leeway as to how, when, and with what force they will deal with these matters. And, of course, the firms have similar options when it comes to the mix of customer service. It's the process of trading off these decisions in search of that combination that best meets the goals of the firm that interests me.

There are a large number of articles in the trade journals and the growing body of research that focuses on security -- its mechanics and its costs. I'm finding little, however, that directly relates security and customer service.

Then there is the follow-on question. If security has a negative impact on customer service, how do you sell that idea to the customer?

This short paper discusses this matter, identifies a desirable outcome, poses issues, and calls for further discussion.

Issue-based consulting is an extremely powerful approach to uncovering the real issues that confront our clients. It can also uncover a large number of objects that need to be woven into a compelling story for change. For example, 45 formal interviews conducted during a business alignment and application of information technology engagement at a major railway uncovered about 300 separate issues which, when analyzed, fell into 16 thematic areas.

Some method is necessary to assure that “things don’t fall through the cracks” and that as the engagement moves forward the reasoning that leads to findings, conclusions and recommendations is not lost.

This paper describes how I have used Microsoft Access as an aid in keeping track of stuff encountered during engagements

The principal external business drivers (forces) to which organizations must respond have achieved levels of unpredictability and velocity of change that most of us would not have imagined just a few years ago. The business of business has become increasingly problematic.

This turbulence is made manifest in the share markets of the world, the ebbs and flows of the global trade network, the polarization of the distribution of wealth, and the increasingly tenuous relationships between cultures.

The world is one “permanent whitewater” and is likely to remain that way well into the early decades of this century.

Still, one must find a way to survive and thrive amidst this storm. This research is about some ideas (also forces) on getting safely to “the other side.”

Notes from the IT Frontline - 1965-2003 - From Punched Card to PDAs (2003)

This PowerPoint presentation covers some of experiences and lessons learned from career of helping companies improve their performance through the application of information technology.

I was asked to present this subject to the Information Systems for Managers class at Baruch College during the Fall 2003 term. This is an update of the same subject presented in the same course duringthe Spring 2003 term.

At the 17 October 2002 meeting of the FINE Network a participant raised the premise that a more through application of principles and practices of mathematical optimization can improve the performance of the supply chain.

The intent of this paper is to begin a discussion of this matter to culminate at some later date in a conclusion as whether or not action should be taken to move further forward on the premise.

The transformation of organizations from lower to higher levels of performance is sometimes dependent upon the degree to which the information seen by decision makers relates, or links to reality. For example, in one case a large freight transportation carrier indicated this to be a major issue inhibiting the achievement of its goals.

This paper identifies a set of issues, hypotheses, and questions that require consideration when relating information and transportation. It then provides a set of conclusions and recommendations.

A study of the alignment between the Business (the users) and Technology (the Information Technology department) at The Company raised the issue of how The Company and The Provider could collaborate in a more structured and formal way to enable The Company to extract higher levels of business value from the investment in information technology.

This document investigates this issue and is written from the point of view of The Provider.